So you might have heard about this color by now: Pantone’s color of the year, Radiant Orchid.

Adrianne @ On The Windy Side and I are running a quilting challenge using the color, and I thought I’d write up a bit about the color. Just to be clear, you don’t have to use any of these schemes for the challenge! I’m just writing up this post to get you started. All we care about is that radiant orchid is the feature color of the quilt.

Radiant Orchid is a red-violet hue, with a medium saturation and a high brightness. I wrote a bit about what those terms mean in my post about color contrast, but basically that means it’s a reddish purple that’s got some grey in it.

My main excitement over Radiant Orchid being the color of the year is that I’m hoping it means we’ll start seeing some purple choices in fabric. As it is, these are the closest I have in my stash. For the challenge, we don’t expect you to have the exact color! Find some red-violets and go from there.

As always, I like to start with the complementary and analogous color schemes, because they are easy places to start.

The complementary of red-violet is yellow-green, somewhere in the chartreuse or lime family.

Paired with chartreuse this suddenly reminds me of Napa Valley wineries and vineyards. The colors remind me a lot of spring, with those new-growth greens and floral violets. Complementary color schemes are not “sit down and be quiet” pairings, they are out to be noticed. If you want something more subdued, analogous is a better bet.

The colors next to red-violet for the analogous color scheme are red and violet, although I dipped into the blue-violet/navy territory to give it a little more depth.

The dark purples and navies are much more wintery and mysterious compared to the complementary scheme.

Or you can go the other direction and use that pop of fuchsia to keep things lively.

Or you can incorporate both to do the full tour of purples. This palette reminds me of transitions: the colors at twilight or the end of winter and start of spring.

And if you edit down, you end up with some deep jewel tones, supported by the Radiant Orchid color.

And if you change the navy out for aqua, you end up with a very different feel. These colors would make a fun child’s quilt!

As for neutrals, it depends on what type of feel you’re going for. Red-violet is a warm color, so look to cool neutrals to complement and make the color stand out, or warm neutrals to smooth out the transitions.

Apparently I was feeling blend-y because I only took pictures with creams and whites…

And with warm greys. Because Radiant Orchid is a medium saturation (has a lot of grey in it), using greys will give a more monochromatic feel to your project.

I hope this gets you started and gives you some ideas of what to do with the color. I am really excited to see what you all make with Radiant Orchid!

This is one of the most interesting postings I’ve read. You have done a terrific job of explaining how to use color and translate it into a hands-on doable tutorial! (Plus you have an amazing stash!) Thank you for sharing your expertise. I’m going to put more thought into my fabric selections in the future.

Thanks Susan! Although there’s nothing wrong with pulling fabric based on your gut!
Thank you so much for all your kind words, I really appreciate it. I’m always happy when someone finds this kind of thing useful!

As much as I try, I can’t master this information, I can only try to internalize it. These pics give me really strong reactions, both positive (chartreuse, fuchsia, aqua, and white/cream) and negative (dark purples, navy (really!), and grays). Now to figure out why.

Interesting! It’s funny, I like the dark purples and navies better than the chartreuse pairing, although I could see situations to use both. Color is often a very personal thing, and everyone has different associations with colors.
What part do you feel you aren’t mastering? I’d be happy to explain in more detail!

I could sit and combine fabric for hours! 😀 And now I want to go combine the aquas and the navies together and see how that looks. I bet that’d be really gorgeous!
I’m so glad you enjoy them! I love putting them together but sometimes question how useful they are. So all the feedback definitely helps!

Sometimes I feel like we’re just two creative souls separated by one big chunk of states And proper terminology (you come out ahead there). This was no exception – I could just dive into all these pulls!

I’ve been stashing for an eggplant and lime quilt for half a year now and thinking about grey accents … apparently I’ve been ahead of the trend? I guess I’ll have lots of chances to see other people’s interpretations of that over the next year.

Yay!! I’m so happy they’re useful! I’m always a little worried that they are going to get boring since (to me) it feels like I’m doing the same thing. But I’ll keep doing them as long as people find them helpful!
Plus it gives me an excuse to play with my fabric. 😀

Thank you once again for the excellent descriptions and demonstrations of colour palette options and how they can change the whole feel even with the same feature colour. Feeling ready to go play with fabric and might just have a go.

Yes!! Go forth and play with fabric! 😀 If that’s the only thing that people get from this, I will be very happy. Anything else that you get from it is gravy! I’m seriously thrilled that you found it so useful!

I was not ‘feeling’ Radiant Orchid when Pantone first announced it was the color of the year. Can you feel uncomfortable looking at a color? However, the past month it has really grown on me…really! I decided not to run away from it. I will be on the front edge of a trend! (for once) Great post, grabbed the button and hope to participate in the quilting challenge!!

I know exactly how you feel, Jayne! I love purple, but seeing Radiant Orchid at first really put me off. Now that everyone is posting it in patterned fabrics and blended palettes, the color is becoming much more appealing : ) Thanks, Anne. for the great color discussion!

You are definitely not alone! Colors can have a lot of associations that are unique to each person. Last year’s color of the year was apparently similar to the color of a medicine my friend took when she lived in the UK. So she had the same kind of reaction to Emerald as you had to Radiant Orchid. But I’m so happy you were able to embrace it and that you’re going to participate in the challenge! I can’t wait to see what you make!